


What Do Stars Do But Shine?

by roosterbox



Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Arthur is picky, Cuddling, Eames is a romantic bastard, Flash Freeze, Fluff, Hot Chocolate, M/M, Stardust spoilers, Watching Sappy Romantic Movies, blizzard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-25
Updated: 2016-01-25
Packaged: 2018-05-16 07:15:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5819215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roosterbox/pseuds/roosterbox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur and Eames cuddle on a couch, watching a movie during a snowstorm.  Trouble is, Eames loves romance films and Arthur...does not.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What Do Stars Do But Shine?

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the tumblr flash freeze challenge. Been so long since I was able to write. I hope it's okay.
> 
> Warnings: excessive fluff? Implied off screen sexings? Major Stardust spoilers? Idk.

When the blizzard hit, the two of them were ready. Perfectly so. Arthur was many things, but unprepared wasn’t one of them. Well, not counting the Fischer Incident. But nobody talked about that anymore…around Arthur, that is.

As it stands, he and Eames were holed up in their apartment in New York. The power was running smoothly, with a back up generator at the ready. (“You never know,” Arthur had said when they bought it. Eames had just shaken his head and smiled. _My Arthur_ , he had thought.) Arthur was putting the finishing touches on two cups of hot cocoa. He took a tentative sip of his own. Perfect. Just the right amount of chocolate and peppermint flavor.

“Darling,” Eames called from the other room, “are the drinks ready? I could use you in here for a second opinion…”

“Be there in a moment.” Carefully, with Eames’ cup in one hand and his in the other, Arthur made his way into the main floor area.

Eames was looking through their collection of movies with extreme concentration. His tongue poked out of the corner of his mouth, which only happened when he was particularly absorbed.

“Hey,” Arthur said softly, doing his best not to startle him. Eames turned. “Hot chocolate’s ready.”

His lover smiled. “With marshmallows?”

“Of course.”

“Arthur, you are the light of my life.”

“Yeah, you say that to all the boys, don’t you?” 

“My dear, you know you’re the only man for me!”

“I know.” Before the other man could continue to feign indignant surprise, Arthur moved on. “So what did you need my help with?”

“Just with picking out this afternoon’s entertainment. I can’t decide on what film to watch,” Eames said, slightly chagrined.

“Well then, shoot me some titles,” Arthur set the steaming cups on the table and sat down in the love-seat. _Now don’t be picky_ , he told himself. _Relationships are all about compromise, after all._

“Love Actually?”

“No.”

“Notting Hill?”

“Definitely not.”

“Pretty Woman?”  


“No.”  


“Imagine Me & You?”

Arthur considered for a moment. “Nah, not today.”

“You’ve Got Mail?”

“No.”

Eames made a face. “Work with me a little, darling. Please.”

“Sorry Eames. I don’t mean to be difficult, but I have a thing about romantic comedies…”

“Said thing being that you hate them, right?”

Arthur blinked. “Well I wouldn’t have put it so bluntly, but-”

“Yeah, I know. I figured that out pretty early on. Remember our second date?”

“Sure I do, we went to a special showing of-”

“Grease, yeah. And all you could talk about afterwards was how clichéd the whole thing was.” Eames said this with a small smile, but he still seemed disappointed, even though that particular date WAS a long time ago.

“…I’m sorry, Eames. I didn’t know it meant so much to you.” Arthur hoped the other man could hear his sincerity. That decisive nature served Arthur well on jobs, but it had at least one unfortunate side effect: he was opinionated and stubborn to a fault.

Eames waved it off. “So if you’re just going to veto any of my choices, do you have any ideas of your own?”

After a moment’s thought, “The Wrath of Khan?” He offered. Eames looked thoroughly unimpressed; it was Arthur’s favorite film, and they’d both seen it at least a dozen times. But he pulled out the DVD and started it up. He sat down next to Arthur, who curled up to his side, throwing the quilt around the two of them. The central heating was fine, but there’s something almost Pavlovian about needing to be cocooned in blankets during a snowstorm.

After a minute or so…“Eames.”

“Hmm?” Eames had a bit of foam on his top lip from his cocoa.

“This does not look like Star Trek.”

“That’s because it’s not, my dear.”

“Well then what is it?”

At that instant, the main title popped up.

Stardust.

“Eames-”

“Just indulge me, Arthur. Please.” He took Arthur’s hand in his and squeezed.  
Arthur pressed his lips into a thin line, and settled back. _Prepare for incoming cheese_ , he thought.

To Arthur’s surprise though, he started to enjoy himself. He loved how snarky the Star - Yvaine - was, and both he and Eames giggled helplessly at the antics of Captain Shakespeare.

“Reminds me of you,” Arthur deadpanned with a twinkle in his eye, which set Eames off laughing again.

By the time Yvaine confessed her love to mouse!Tristan, Arthur was completely hooked. So engrossed was he that he missed Eames periodically glancing at him. And smiling.

When Arthur squeezed his hand a little tighter as Tristan fought Lamia, Eames said nothing.

When Arthur tried and failed to hide his surprise at the servant girl’s revelation, Eames said nothing.

And when Tristan and Yvaine lived happily ever after, and Arthur tried to discreetly wipe at his eyes, Eames said nothing.

“Well, ” Arthur started as the credits rolled. “That was…”

“It’s good, yeah?” Eames spoke finally.

“I guess so. I mean, it was pretty cheesy in places.”

 _Says the man who cried like a baby at the happy ending_ , Eames thought. “Nothing wrong with a slice of good cheese every now and again, Arthur.”

Arthur found he had to concede that point at least.

They sat there for a while, cocoa long since drank. The DVD menu repeated twice, but neither of them wanted to move to stop it or change movies. That would require getting up, and Arthur was too comfortable, too-

“-warm,” he mumbled.

“Me too, love. Me too.”

After another silent moment, Eames said, “I think I know something you’d be willing to get up off the sofa for.”

Arthur snuggled closer, “I doubt it.”

“Wanna fool around a little until the storm blows over?”

Eames was smirking that insufferable little smirk of his. The one Arthur could never resist. He gave back one of his own.

“Think your stamina is up to it, old man?”

“Why don’t we give it the old college try and find out, darling?” Eames’ voice was pure silk. He could have charmed a baby bird into the mouth of a lion. But those blue eyes saw nothing except Arthur.

“Well what are you waiting for then?” Arthur asked. In one fluid movement he threw the blanket off and started briskly for the bedroom. Eames followed, drinking in the view. After all, he was an ass man, and Arthur’s was fantastic.

“Er, darling?” He asked when they had reached the doorway.

“What?”

“When I said you were the only man for me, and you said ‘I know…’”

“Mm-hm.” Arthur took off his shirt, carefully folded it, and set it on the dresser.

“Did you mean just that you know, or, that you, y'know, **_know_**?”

Slowly, Arthur walked over and put his arms around Eames’ neck. “Dearest,” he said, smiling, “what do **you** think?”

 _That’s my Arthur_ , Eames thought, and leaned down to kiss those familiar, much beloved lips. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! If you liked it, comment and let me know!
> 
> Got a tumblr? If you want, you can follow me [right here](http://roosterbox.tumblr.com/)!


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